Staying Connected While Working Remotely
Posted July 28th, 2014
It’s a career dream of many – to work from a home office or other “remote” location while continuing to work for a company.
Working remotely can be a dream come true: you can work in sweatpants if you want and you may be able (depending on the agreement you make with your employer) to work at any time or on any days of the week you wish so long as the work is completed on time. You also won’t have to suffer through an agonizing commute, you can be at home when your kids get home from school, and so on.
But working remotely does have its challenges and making sure you don’t become “out of sight, out of mind” to your boss when it comes to promotions, plumb projects and pay raises is one of them.
Read below for tips on how to stay connected while working remotely.
- Don’t be afraid of the phone. Sure, e-mail is more convenient. But how many times have you e-mailed someone at work back and forth and back and forth as each of you asks and answers questions, with more questions arising with each answer, when a simple and quick phone call would have saved considerably time. How so? Because being able to ask a question that comes up when another is answered works much more efficiently via phone. So if you have a multi-layered question or concern, call your boss; don’t e-mail.
- But don’t neglect your e-mail altogether. Your boss wants to be able to reach you quickly (and may want to know that you’re paying attention to work e-mail). So check your e-mail regularly, at least twice a day.
- Consider downloading some instant messaging applications to your home computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. This allows you to stay in touch with your boss even when you have to run a quick errand.
- If your work agreement has you working 40 hours a week at home, getting face time in front of your colleagues and boss becomes problematic, but ever more important. If you live close to your office aim to visit it at least once a week or so to have lunch with colleagues, etc. Meetings, while time consuming, also give you a great “excuse” to head to the office for a little good “nice to see you” time with your boss.
- Send weekly work updates and project completion reports to your boss. This lets her know your work is getting done. In fact, be sure to send her reports when you meet a goal early or bring in a great new client. This lets her know you deserve kudos – and a possible raise – even though she’s not there to directly present it to you.
If you live in the Bay Area and are looking for a new opportunity, send your resume to the recruiters at Bayside Solutions. We have many clients who are looking top talent and we’d love to present your qualifications to them. Contact us today.
